Invasive non-native plants: are we winning the battle?
January 10, 2018
Last year was a busy year for the River Dee Trust and the River Don Trust and their army of volunteers in the fight against invasive non-native plants on our riverbanks.
One of our biggest successes has been to increase the size of the catchment available to salmon. Where we have man-made obstacles to fish migration, such as an old weir, we have removed it. In the last 10 years, we have removed over thirty obstructions to fish migration. One of the largest was the Culter Dam, which opened up about 75km of the catchment to salmon. Once we remove the other obstacles on the Culter catchment we will have opened up about 125km of river. These areas which will be colonised by salmon. It will take a few years to populate the area, but we have made a good start. In the first year following installation, 43 salmon used the fish pass. In the summer of 2015, we recorded the first salmon fry in the Culter catchment in over 200 years. So the process is well underway.
2016 Count to 2 November
- a total count of 6 Salmon have ascended the pass since the counter was installed on the 28th of August
- a total count of 18 Sea trout have ascended the pass since the counter was installed on the 28th of August
Read more about Improving Access For Fish
Pink salmon update
September 07, 2017
With the news and social media rife with the invasion of Pacific pink salmon, we want to give people an update on the situation on the Dee and what we are doing about it. The situation has developed rapidly in the last month.
Tree Enclosures Vandalised
June 30, 2017
We are sad to report deliberate damage to recently planted trees, established as part of the Pearls in Peril (PiP) LIFE+ near Braemar.
Smolt trapping success for a second year
June 14, 2017
After 10 weeks of work with over 8,000 fish counted, and over 4,000 measured, the smolt run on the Dee has come to an end for another year.
Aberdeen Asset Management Team Help With Bank Work on the Baddoch Burn
May 17, 2017
Our friends at AAM pitched in once again to help us with an important piece of restoration work on the upper catchment
Volunteers Wanted As River Dee Trust Gets Set to Tackle Invasives on the River Don
April 10, 2017
A new project to tackle invasives on the River Don gets underway this summer.
Dee Fishing Report WE 25 March 2017
March 27, 2017
All the news and action from last week's fishing on the Dee
River Dee Trust Receives Fantastic Support from the Community
December 08, 2016
As a charity, the River Dee Trust has to raise funds to support its work on the River Dee. We have been humbled by the level of support throughout the year. In the last couple of months, we have had two fundraising events, which have raised £11500, all thanks to the community and River Dee family.
Smolt Tracking Report Shows Interesting Results
October 11, 2016
The smolt tagging and tracking project is a three year programme of work. Fifty smolts, captured in the lower catchment, were fitted with internal acoustic tags and tracked in spring 2016. These smolts were tracked as they migrated through the lower 22 miles of the Dee and inner harbour.
River Dee Hatchery Appraisal- Report Published
October 06, 2016
Is a hatchery a practical, cost effective, sustainable and beneficial way of boosting rod catches of adult Atlantic Salmon in the Dee?
Costain Upstream Oil & Gas Team Volunteer to Help Remove Invasive Plants
September 21, 2016
A fantastic effort by Costain volunteers helps Dee Trust in our efforts to combat destructive invasive species
Smolt Trapping & Tagging
August 31, 2016
The first year of this vital project has been completed and the early results have been interesting
First Parr Recorded on the Culter Catchment
July 22, 2016
The first parr have been recorded on the Culter Catchment in over 200 years
Electrofishing Programme in Full Swing
July 14, 2016
To assess health of juvenile fish stocks, we carry out electrofishing surveys each summer, to look at fish densities in different parts of the catchment and see how numbers of fish change over time.
Smolt Tagging and Tracking Data Processing Underway
July 07, 2016
The first year of the smolt tagging and tracking project is nearly complete.
Tackling Non Native Invasives
July 05, 2016
Tackling invasive non-native plants along the banks of the River Dee – such as Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and North American skunk cabbage - has become a priority for the River Office because of their potential impact on our river and its existing, native species.
Protecting Fish Stocks
May 26, 2016
Our fish are important to our local economy. River Bailiffs provide much needed protection from illegal activity.